Day 146 Financial adviser

Financial adviser

In modern financial environment, the factors that have the impact on the market vary readily. Therefore, a considerable amount of knowledge is for investors required to participate in this extraordinary battlefield. The expanding industry and volatile scenario have stimulated the demand of financial planning services provided by a financial adviser. A good financial plan must meet the dynamic goals in a specific period of time for investors. These plans are sophisticated designed by financial advisers according to customer’s financial position and risk-taking strategy. As a financial major student, it is important for us to understand this position, since it is one of the most common directions in our future careers. 

According to the Financial Service Reform Act(2001), the financial adviser must comply with several conducts when dealing with clients. The first requirement is the provision of Financial Service Guide (FSG) to customers. This guide must be given before the licensees suggest any advises to the individual investor. It must include relative terms such as: details of the adviser, services offered, benefit/remuneration/fees received by the adviser, and the complain method. After the adviser provided the guide, he/she would start to gather data from client. This step needs the participant have substantial level of consulting skill. It is a compulsory process due to the ‘know your client’ rule must be followed. In this stage, the advisor would try to obtain accurate information in regard of the investor’s financial position, motivation of investment and any other relevant factors that is going to affect the decision. Through this stage, the financial planners should determine the objective and issues faced by their clients, and therefore, establish a detailed investment strategy for it. Under the Financial Service Reform Act, the Statement of Advise(SOA) must be supplied to customers. This document should consist of the recommendations suggested by the adviser, corresponding to the information gained from the fact-finding process. For instance, terms such as the scope of advice, strategic of investment and charge for the service are clarified in this statement. In addition, a Product Disclosure Statement(PDS) should also take place, in order to provide more options for recommended investment products. 

As a financial planner, we should not only be familiar with all the factors and forces in the financial market. The position requires us to represent a certain degree of interpersonal, judgment and problem-solving skills, as to maximize our job efficiency in this dynamic professional environment.